Sealing sheet applying apparatus



Feb. 27, 1951 ARDELL 2,543,220

SEALING SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS Filed May 24, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR %G4L M XML {M H/ 5 ATTORNEYS Feb. 27, 1951 E. ARDELI. 2,543,220

SEALING SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS v Filed May 24, 1949 e Sheets-Sheet 2- INVENTOR H/ ATTORNEY s Feb. 27, 1951 E. ARDELL SEALING SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 24, 1949 W M {02am H S ATTORNEYS Feb. 27, 1951 ARDELL 2,543,220

SEALING SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS Filed May 24, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 66 BY w {5M 65 14 5 ATTORNEYS Feb. 27, 1951 E. ARDELL SEALING SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 24, 1949 INVENTOR 5.4 M

BY M 5M, MJ'Q/ MAv-ouq H/s ATTORNEYS Feb. 27, 1951 E. ARDELL SEALING SHEET APPLYING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 24, 1949 INVENTOR Wi wam .N/S ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 27, 1951 Edgar Ardell, Middletown, Conni, assignor' to Hartford-Empire" Company, Portland, Conm, a

corporation of Delaware Application May 24, 1949, Serial No. 95,003

Claims. 7 1

This invention relates to a machine for apply ing stickers or sheets of paper, fabric, or the like, to articles. Although the machine can be used Wherever it is desirable to apply such sheets to articles having a sufliciently flat surface to receive them, the invention will be described as embodied in a machine for closing the-spouts of containers for salt or like dry granular or-pourable products and applying a sealing sheet thereover.

Such products are'customarily packaged in cylindrical containers-or cans, usually formed of cardboard and provided with pouring spouts hingedly secured to the top of the contalner'and movable in an opening in the top from open to closed positions. In one well known construction, the spout forms a closure which substantially closes the opening in the container top when the spout is moved to its closed position. In the packing of such materials, the containers are filled with the spouts open and it is necessary thereafter to close the spouts and to seal them against accidental opening and leakage; This sealing is preferably accomplished by adhesively securing a small sheet of thin paper" over the closed spout and the adjacent portions of the container top which surround the spout and the opening through which it moves.

In the copending application of Fischer and Ardell, Serial No. 605,540, filed July 1'7, 1945, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, now Patent 2,483,458, there is disclosed and claimed an apparatus'of this general type. This prior apparatus has proved to be successful in commercial operation, particularly in closing the spouts of salt containers and applying sealing sheets adhesively secured as above described and employing a liquid, paste'or gum type of adhesive.

The general object of the present invention is to improve the construction of the prior apparatus, and. especially to provide a machine of this sort which is capable of applying sheets coated with a thermoplastic adhesive, that is to say, an adhesive which is dry at ordinary room temperatures but which is-conditioned, that is, rendered tacky or sticky by the application of heat. Thethermoplastic adhesive coated sheet is applied to the container While its'adhesive coating is heated or conditioned, and upon cooling the adhesive returns to its hard or dry condition and serves adhesively to secure'the sheet to the surface of the container.

Another object of the present invention is to increase the speed of operation so-as to seal the 2 containers at ahigher rate than in the previous apparatus.

Another objectlofth e invention is tq provide a 'machine'in which the parts'the'r'eofwhich' feed and apply the individualsheet's'to the'contaiiiers operate with continuous, instead of intermittent, motion.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide for the cutting of'a continuousstripor'weliof paper, or the like, into individual sealingsl'ieets in such a way as to pr'e'ventthe heat'fro'm the applying" mechanism from interfering Withthe' operation of the severing mechanism.

The invention will be understood upon a can: sideration of the accompanying drawings'till us-P trating its embodiment, by way of example-m a spout closingmacliine' as above referrd'to; In these drawings: v i

Fig; 1 is a view of the spout closing machine in side elevation;

Fig; 2 is a plan view; 7 I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line"33"of Fig. 1 looking toward the left, some parts'being omitted;

Fig, 4 isa'vertical section taken on line ll of Fig. '7, also lookingtowardthe'left; v

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5- -5 of Fig'. 1; 7 r

Fig." dis a plan View of a detail; I

Fig. 7 is 'an enlarged elevation'of theweb cut ting and sheet carrier mechanism, with parts shown in vertical section; V

Fig. 8 is a vertical section showing' so'mepf theparts of Fig. 7in a different 'positionfihe'sec tion beingtakeii' on line 8 -8 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9' is an enlarged elevation of the rotary head which applies the sheets to the containers;

Fig. 10' shows the outline of aslotted cam also shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a transverse vertical section taken on line i l-ll of Fig. 9;

Fig. 12"is a horizontal sectionv taken online l2 l2 of Fig.8; and

Fig. 13 is a verticalsection: of a detail taken on line l3|3 of Fig. 11, looking toward the right.

Referring now to these drawings, thecontainers C1, C2, C3 and C4 are advanced in the direction of the arrow shown'in Fig. 2 on a rotating table I of a fillingmachine where the salt or other granular material is poured into the containers. As they reach the position C1, the containers are removed from table I by means of a-succession of flight members 2 which are mounted in spaced relation on" a 'fiight' chain 3. Thisflight chain travels in a horizontal plane and carries the containers toward the left along a horizontal table 4. After the spouts are closed and sealed the containers move onto a rotating turntable which delivers them in any desired direction to the next operation, such, for example, as a packing machine. Guides 6 keep the containers in a straight path on table 4 and direct them across the turntable.

As the succession of containers travels over table 4 their respective pivoted spouts I are first rotated to closed position by means of a cam device 8 and thereafter the containers each receive a sealing sheet S4 over the closed spout from a continuously rotating head, indicated generally by numeral 9. The sealing sheets are cut from a continuous web ID of paper which is fed from a magazine roll H by means of a feed roll [2 to a cutting mechanism, indicated generally by numeral $3. This delivers the cut sheets to a rotary carrier I4 by which they are transferred from the cutting mechanism to the rotary head 9 which applies them to the containers. Reference numerals S1, S2, S3 and S4 indicate four sealing sheets at various positions in their movement.

The foregoing describes the general arrangement and operation of the apparatus, whose construetion will now be considered more in detail. The principal frame of the apparatus consists of a member l5, preferably in the form of an iron casting. Power for driving the apparatus is applied through a vertical shaft I6 (Fig. 3) which, through beveled gearing l1, drives a short horizontal shaft l8. Flight chain 3 is driven by means of a sprocket [9 on the vertical shaft Hi. This chain is trained around sprockets 29 and 2|, at the right and left sides of the machine respectively. Sprocket 2| is keyed to its shaft,

and fixed to the lower end of the shaft is a sprocket Zia which, through chain Zlb, drives the turntable 5. Rotary head 9, rotary carrier l4, severing mechanism l3 and feed roll l2 are all driven from short shaft 5 8 through suitable gearing and sprocket chain, all of which will be described presently. I

Rotary head 9 (Figs. 3, 9 and 11) comprises a body member 22, four sheet carrying and applying devices, indicated generally by numeral 23, and a stationary control cam member 24. Body member 22 is secured by means of a key 25 to the front end of a horizontal shaft 26 which is supported in bearings in frame I5 and rotated by means of a large gear 2! which meshes with a pinion 28 on short shaft [8. Body member 22 is provided with four enlargements 29 which project in a radial direction and also towards the front of the machine from the central portion of member 22 which is of generally circular form. Each of the enlargements 29 has four holes drilled in its face within which four tubes 39 (Figs. 9 and 3) are fixed. The outer ends of each of these groups of four tubes constitute a supporting surface for a sealing sheet such, for example, as shown at S1, S2, S3 and S4 (Fig, 1).

The sealing sheets are held on the ends of tubes 30 by suction, and for this purpose the inner ends of tubes 30 communicate with horizontal drilled passages 3| (Fig. 11) which extend to the rear vertical surface of body member 22 and communicate with a vacuum groove 32 which is connected through a pipe 33 to an appropriate vacuum source. Vacuum groove 32 extends in the clockwise direction, which is the direction of rotation of rotary head 9, for about two-thirds of a complete revolution of the head and terminates just before the sheet carrying devices 23 reach their lowermost position, which is the point where the sealing sheets are applied to the cans. As carrying devices 23 continue their movement the passages 31 rotate into communication with a short second groove 34 to which air pressure is supplied through a tube 35 (Figs. 5 and 9).

Vacuum groove 32 and pressure groove 34 are formed in a stationary annular member 36 which is urged by means of coil springs 31 toward the left as shown in Fig. 11 so as to maintain it in contact with the surface of body member 22 of the rotary head. Springs 31 are mounted upon pins 38 fixed in frame [5 and serving to support member 36 which is provided with suitable apertures arranged to fit slidably on the outer end portions of these pins. The engaging flat surfaces of member 36 and body 22 are suitably finished to provide the necessary fluid-tight joint therebetween. The drilled passages 3| may be closed at their outer ends in any suitable manner as by means of the screws 39.

In order to heat the sealing sheets so as to condition the thermoplastic adhesive on them, each of the sealing sheet carrying devices 23 is provided with a metal heating and pressing pad 40 which serves also to press the sheets against the tops of the cams. This pad is of somewhat greater area than the sealing sheet and its surface is arcuate in side view and substantially straight in the other direction as shown in Figs. 9 and 11. The four tubes 30 for each of sheet carrying devices 23 project through apertures 4| in pads 40 (Fig. 3). These apertures permit pads 49 to move in a radial direction during the rotation of rotary head 9 and also permit them to have a pivotal support so as to press the sealing sheets against the tops of the cans with a rolling or rocking movement. These apertures are also large enough to provide a substantial air space between the tubes and the heated pads to retard the transfer of heat to the tubes and thence to the rotary head.

Each of pads 40 is pivoted on a horizontally projecting rod 42 which is welded or otherwise permanently secured in a recess at the apex of a block 43 (Fig. 13) bluntly pointed in side view and flanked on either side by extensions or wings 44 and forming a support for pad 49. The pivotally mounted pads 40 are held centered with their curved surfaces concentric with the axis of shaft 26 by means of a pair of coil springs 42a. Block 43 is mounted on body 22 of rotary head 9 by means of a rod 45 fixed to and projecting radially inward from the center of block 43. Rod 45 is received with a sliding fit in a bushing 46 mounted in a radial opening in one of the enlargements 29. The inner end of this opening is vented at 41 to permit rod 45 to slide freely in bushing 46.

Each of the blocks 43 is provided with a cam follower roller 48 suitably mounted on a pin 49 which projects from the inner face of block 43 to position roller 48 within the slot 50 of cam member 24. This cam member is firmly secured to frame l5 by means of screws 5|. Block 43 with its wing portions 44 is maintained in contact with the fiat annular face of cam member 24 by the support of rods 45 in bushings 46 and in this way the supporting rod 42 for the pad 40 is held in parallel relation to the axis of the rotary head 9.

Each of the pads 40 has an inwardly extending boss which is apertured to receive an electric heater 52. lnorder tosupply current-.to these;

blocks 5'! to the enlargementsZS ofbodymember" 22 of rotary head. 9, and. slip; rings inconsequently rotate with this..head;.

Current ,is; supplied to; slip; .rings 54by::mea-ns of a pair of stationary brushes 58 i'(Figs-.-9;and.3) These brushes are mounted. .in; yielding contact.-

withthe surface of rings 5.4 in'a well understood manner.

nected through acable 66. A control box 6|, in.- cluding; a suitable cut-.oif switch is arranged ad:

jacent connectionbox 59--and connectedin the Connection. box 59 and: control box- 6| are supported onan. L-shaped.

circuit of brushes 58.

bracket 62 (Fig. 5) which -isattached to theright side of frame I5. Anannular guard-ring; 63 of:

insulating material is mounted. in stationary position to protect. against accidental, contactwith the slip rings. 54.

Referring now to. therotary carrier. lflnand.

web cut-off mechanism I3, carrier l4 is:.a.circular. plate-like member (Figs. 4-, 7 and 12) having; two

parallel. arms 64 arranged .180 degrees apart and:

each arm having, at itsouter end. an .arcuate sealing sheet supporting surface 65. surfacesfiE have a plurality of openings 66 which communicate withpassages 6!- in arms .64- that extend. to the rear surface of carrier I4. This is a finished surface and like rotary-head 9is maintained in contact with the surface ofa: stationary member 68 which is chambered tosupplysuction and pressure successively to. the passages filduring the rotation of carrier l4. Member. 68 is.

yieldably mounted on frame .I5'in,the.same.way

as member 36 .for rotary head. 9.. For this purpose member 68 has an ,arcuate. suctiongroove 69 (Fig; 7) to which a suction pipe 10 is connected, anda circular pressure opening II to which a pressure pipe." "is .connected.

Carrier I4 is fixed to the front end of a,hori:

zontal shaft l3 (Figs. 4 and .12); rotatingin a.

bearing in frame I 5: Shaft 13'is driven by means. of a gear 14 fixed to its rear end (Fig. 4)" and driven by an intermeshing, gear 15. (Fig. '7) I on a cam shaftIS that actuatesthe cutting mechanism 13. Gear I5 inturnis driven by a'gear I! on a stub shaft 18 (Fig. 4) which" is driven by a gear I9 of the same diameter as gear I1 and which meshes with the previously mentioned'gear '21 on shaft 26-of the rotary 'h'ead 9.

Considering now the mechanism-for severing web I!) .into the individual sealing sheets, the

web which travels toward therig ht at the bottom cause web ID to: be drawn'around one or more" of its corners. A weighted lever; 85 :restsron: magazine roll II in, order. that .the webmaytbe Brushes; 58fformza part of alconnection: box 59 to which the. supply conductorsare con- Supporting:

drawn' over the curling bar-under suitable-ten.-

sion.. Pressure roller 8| iscarried on anrarm 86 which. is :pivotediat its right end. on a part of frame. I5; Arm 86 is: biased upwardly, by means of I a. coil spring fi'l to cause roller; 81 to be held against the: web with thedesired pressure. The trough 82 is supported on a bracket.88 (Fig; 8) which is .irr-turn secured to another bossxprojecting. fromrframe l5.

Feed/roll I2v is fixed. to the forward end of a horizontal shaft 89 suitably. journaled. in frame I5 andhavinga: sprocket 90 (Fig. 3) atits rearendwhichzis driven. by achain 9| from a similarsprocket vertically below sprocket Stand mounted on:;shaft .25' for rotary head 9; which as-previously described is: gear driven from short shaft I8 and vertical shaft I6.

The leftendof-open trough 82 is curved downwardly; close to the. path of rotation of the-two sheet supporting. surfaces 651 on arms 64 of the vacuum rotary carrier I4 as shown in Figs? and 8; and delivers the end portion of the web- I0 to severing mechanism I3 which includes a knife 92 and. an anvil 93-(-Fig. '7), and also onto one of thetwosupporting surfaces 65, these -parts.op. erating' in timed relation as is abouttobedee scribed.- contact with surface 65 the central part of the end portion of channel 82-is cut awayas indicated at $4 in- Fig.6;

A curved-blade 95-guides the web downwardly against a supporting. surface 65. as it moves toward the cutting position so that the web'will be within the range of the vacuum applied through the openings 65. line of cutting andfrees the end of thestrip from theknife 92-as'it recedes. Blade 95is attached by, screws 96 to a support 9? which is pivotally mounted. at 98 at the end of a boss 99 extending from frame casting I5; Boss 99-is adjacent another boss Illeat the-end of which. is mounted a stop block I0! against which a stop screw I02, adjustably mounted on plate support 91,- operates. In this way blade 95-acts yieldingly against the outer surface of web. M3,. being. biased downward by its-weight, and being limited in its downward movement .by the stop screw. I82 which. prevents blade. 95 from becoming a drag on theweb to.

resistits advancementby feed roll I2.

The mechanism for operating. knife 92 and anvil 93 of severing mechanism I3 is shownin enlarged side .view in Fig. '7, and alsoin Figs. i and 5. Knife blade 92 is mountedat the endofa curved arm I D3 which is fixed to the-front end of arock shaft I64, and anvil 93 is mounted onthe upper end of astraight arm I65 fixed tothe front end of a second rock shaft I05. Rock shafts I05 and I06 extend through tdthe rear of frame 15 in which they are suitably supported in bearings. These. two shafts and their respective severing devices'are actuated by means of two cams which are keyed to the rear end. of cam shaft 75, the knifeoperating cam being. indicated at Ill! and the. anvil cam at I08; Rock shaft lee-which operates knife 92is actuated by a cam follower roller 1B9 whichis pivoted'on the endof an arm I II) keyed to the rear end ofshaft HM, while rock shaft I06 for the anvil 93 is actuated by a cam follower roller I I I which is pivoted at the end'of a curved arm I I2 keyed to the rear end of shaft its.

Knife-92 and anvil 93 are'shown in open position in Figs. 1 and"? and in closed or cutting position in1qFig; 8 WhiChZShOWS the parts an instant after the severing of the sealing strip S1. From Fig. 5 it willbe seen that'anvil 93 extends In order to. allow'the web to move into The end of the blade isat theinwarcu from arm I into the path of rotation of the two arms 64, each with its sealing sheet supporting surface 65. From the shape of cam I08 (Fig. '7) it will be understood that anvil 93 is moved into the cutting position which has been indicated b the radial line H3 quickly after the passage of each of the arms 64, cam shaft 16 being rotated at twice the speed of carrier shaft I3. That is to say, arm I05 moves anvil 93 outward from the position of Fig. 7 and to a. position close to the path of arms 54 as one of these arms approaches the cutting line I I3, and immediately after the arm passes this line anvil 93 abruptly shifts outward to the cutting position. At the same instant, cam I01 rocks shaft I04 and causes knife 92 to sever the strip as shown in Fig. 8 by a quick in and out movement. Anvil 93 gradually moves back to its inward position to allow the next arm 54 of rotary carrier I4 to move past the anvil and toward the cutting line I I3.

Knife 92 is yieldably held against a fiat surface H4 on the end of arm I03 b means of a coil spring H5 on a small bolt H6 which is anchored in the head of arm I03 and passes loosely through an aperture in blade 02. Thi permits blade 92 to have a sloping edge so as to sever the web with a shearing cut. During the instant that the blade and anvil are severing the web, the web, which is fed continuously forward by feed roll I2, is permitted to bow or loop as indicated at I I1 between two stationary rods or wires H8 which are adjustably positioned on channel 82 for this purpose. The cutting action being rapid, the bow formed is small and immediately straightens out when the knife 92 recedes.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

All of the parts of the machine operate continuously, there being no intermittent operation other than the oscillating motion of the arms I03 and I05 cf the severing mechanism which is also continuous as just described. The surface or rotative speed of the ends of the sealing sheet supporting tubes of the rotary head 9 is arranged to be the same as that of the sheet supporting surfaces of carrier I4 and also the same as the linear speed of the tops of the salt cans C1-C4 on table 4. The speed of feed roll I2 is arranged to feed the desired length of sealing strip to the cutting position H3 as each of the arms 64 of carrier I4 reaches this position. The speed of feed roll I2 therefore depends upon the length of the sealing sheet desired. This can be changed by substituting different size sprockets on shafts 89 and 28 (Fig. 3).

As each of the sheet supporting surfaces 65 of the two arms 64 of carrier I4 reaches the cutting position i I3 (Fig. 7) the end of web I0 which has been fed forward by feed roll I2 beyond the end of trough 82 is picked up and supported by surface 65, the vacuum applied through passages 66 causing the end of the strip to be drawn toward and to adhere to this surface. Since the speed of from surface 65 to the outer ends of tubes 30 of one of the sheet carrying devices 23 of rotary head 9. Vacuum has been applied to these tubes at this position and the vacuum through passages 66 has been cut off and pressure applied instead so as to blow the sealing strip free of surface 65. Sealing strip S2 is in this position and the coated side of this strip is on the outside.

In this transfer position, the heating and impressing pad 40 has been withdrawn from the end of tubes 30 as shown in Fig. 7 by the action of cam groove 50 (see Figs. 9 and 10). As the rotary head 0 continues its rotation the sealing strip is carried around in the clockwise direction through the positions S3 and S4, where the strip is applied to the salt can C3. The contour of cam groove 50 is such that pad 40 is moved outwardly into contact with, or closely adjacent to the surface of the sealing sheet by the time the sheet reaches the top position shown in Fig. 9. Pad 40 remains in this position until the sealing sheet is close to the point of application to the can, then the contour of the cam changes abruptly so as to force pad 40 outwardly and press the sealing strip against the top of the can. During the next degrees of travel, pad 40 is again returned to the initial position shown at the left of Fig. 9.

During somewhat more than degrees of travel of rotary head 9, pad 40 is applying heat to the sealing sheet, so that by the time the sheet is pressed into contact with the can, the thermoplastic adhesive on its outer surface has been conditioned or rendered tacky so that it will adhere to the surface of the cam around the margins of the sealing spout I and cause a proper construction and arrangement of the various parts without departing from the scope of the invention which is set forth in the appended claims. Also, it will be understood that the apparatus can be used to apply sheets other than sealing strips for containers and the word container as used in the appended claims is intended to include articles with or without pouring spouts.

Iclaim:

1. In a device of the character described, in combination, a substantially horizontal conveyer for conveying a. succession of containers, a rotary head rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis disposed above said conveyer, said head having a plurality of sheet supporting devices traveling in a generally circular path to engage the successive containers on said conveyer, a carrier rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis and a plurality of sheet supporting surfaces disposed to engage the sheet carrying devices of said rotary head, means for feeding a continuous web onto the successive supporting surfaces of said carrier, severing mechanism for successively cutting sheets from said web constructed, disposed and timed to deposit individual sheets on said carrier supporting surfaces, means for releasably holding said individual sheets on said carrier, means operated by the rotation of said carrier for moving said sheets away from said carrier and onto the respective sheet supporting devices of said rotary head, and means operated by the rotation of said head for moving said individual sheets away from said head and onto successive containers on said conveyer when each container is brought into contact with such sheet.

2. A device of the character described as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the sheet supporting devices of the rotary head is provided with a heated member having a pressing surface, said member being mounted to move outward and inward on said head, and a cam being arranged to cause said members successively to move into contact with the individual sheets to condition the adhesive thereon and thereafter to press the sheets onto the successive containers.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a rotary head provided with one or more vacuum supports, each for supporting a sheet, and each having a heating and pressing pad mounted on the rotary head and constructed and arranged to move outwardly and inwardly of said head, and mechanism for moving said pad outwardly into engagement with the sheet on such support simultaneously to heat the sheet and strip it from its said support and press it into adhering contact with a container, said mechanism thereafter returning said head inwardly.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a rotary vacuum head comprising a body member having one or more sheet carrying and applying devices each of which comprises a group of open ended tubes fixed to and projecting radially from said body member to form sheet supporting surfaces at their open ends, means for connecting said tubes with a vacuum source, a heating and pressing pad mounted in radially movable position on said body and provided with apertures to allow said tubes to project through the pad, and a cam and follower mechanism for causing said pad to move adjacent a sheet supported on the tubes to heat the sheet and thereafter to move it off the tubes and apply it to a container.

5. In a device of the character described, in combination, a substantially horizontal conveyer for conveying a succession of containers, a rotary head rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis disposed above said conveyer, said head having sheet carrying means traveling in a generally circular path to engage the successive containers on said conveyer, a carrier rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis and having sheet supporting means disposed to rotate adjacent said rotary head to engage the sheet carrying means thereof, means for feeding a continuous web onto the supporting means of said carrier, said web having a thermoplastic adhesive coating, severing mechanism for successively cutting sheets from said web constructed, disposed and timed to deposit individual sheets on said carrier sheet supporting means, means for releasably holding said individual sheets on said carrier, means operated by the rotation of said carrier for moving said sheets away from said carrier and onto the sheet supporting means of said rotary head, a heated member having a pressing surface and mounted to move outward and inward of the rotary head, and mechanism for causing said heated member to move outward into contact with an individual sheet on the sheet supporting means to condition the adhesive on said sheet and subsequently to move such sheet off of its supporting means and onto a container on said conveyer.

6. In apparatus of the class described, a rotary carrier having one or more suction portions moving in a circular path, severing mechanism including co-acting cutting members constructed and arranged to move into and out of cutting engagement with each other at a cutting position, said cutting position being disposed substantially within the path of said suction portions, feeding mechanism for feeding a web'at substantially uniform speed to said severing mechanism, the web thereby being severed into successive sheets of uniform length, and means for operating said severing mechanism and said rotary carrier in timed relation to one another to cause said cutting mechanism to clear each carrier suction portion and said suction portion to remove said successively severed sheets from said cutting position.

'7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6 in which the cutting members move into cutting position close behind a suction portion of the rotary carrier each time a suction portion passes through the cutting position.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein the severing mechanism includes two movable cutting members, said members moving into and out of the circular path of the carrier suction portions from opposite sides of said path, said members when substantially in said path'co-acting to sever the web.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 in which the rotary carrier comprises a disc-like member and each suction portion thereof is constituted of a projection from the face of such disc-like member.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 in which the speed of the web feeding mechanism can be changed in order to vary the length of the severed sheets.

EDGAR ARDELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 671,005 Sherman Apr. 2, 1901 2,206,043 Novick July 2, 1940 2,483,458 Fischer et al. Oct. 4, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 236,019 Great Britain July 2, 1925 

